Independence Day

In celebration of Independence Day, I had a chance to re-review the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to our Constitution. And when I say the Bill of Rights, I mean my Bill of Rights and your Bill of Rights because it is so clear that the original authors, responding to the tyranny of the crown, wanted to protect individual people, each of us a puzzle piece to the greater picture at large. It is my own interpretation that the framers had immense faith that individuals could be trusted to do the right thing even to the point of electing or appointing the people who would keep them on track. It is a reminder that this country is mine and yours and collectively "ours" to seize, build, reform, baske in, and cherish.

For your perusal, a summary of your Bill of Rights.

1. The First Amendment protects your freedom to practice religion, freedom from being forced to practice any particular religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to associate and assemble, and the freedom to criticize the government and ask it to make changes.

2. The Second Amendment allows people the right to protect themselves by bearing arms. The Constitution essentially secures that the responsibility of personal protection lies with the individual, not the government.

3. This amendment prohibits the government from forcing you to house soldiers during times of peace and war. This amendment has been more broadly interpreted to include the government's use of private land to "house" other things like endangered species.

4. The Fourth Amendment deals with privacy, unlawful search and seizure, and probable cause.

5. The Fifth Amendment makes sure that you are not tried for the same crime twice, that if convicted you are only punished once, that you don't have to testify against yourself, and that your personal property cannot be turned into public property without just compensation.

6. Every person accused of a crime has the right to know what the charge is, the right to be confronted by their accusers and witnesses, the right to require witnesses to testify in their defense, the right to a trial within a short period of time from being accused, and the right to legal assistance (which at the time only meant that the government couldn't take your lawyer away. It wasn't until later that this amendment was interpreted to allow people the right to have a lawyer even if it meant that one had to be provided.)

7. The Seventh Amendment ensures that everyone has the right to a jury trial for every accusation.

8. Essentially, this amendment ensures that the punishment shall fit the crime.

9. The Ninth Amendment essentially says that just because the Constitution gives the people some rights, it shouldn't be implied that it denies other rights to people. We don't need the Constitution to tell us everything - just because the Constitution doesn't say I have a right doesn't mean that I don't have it.

10. State governments can provide rights or limit rights not otherwise listed or described in the Constitution.